Building resilient communities

The Northern Ontario Sustainable Communities Partnership (NOSCP) and Algoma University's Nordik Institute will be hosting a conference in Sault Ste. Marie early next year to advance the concept of community-based forest management across Canada.

The Northern Ontario Sustainable
Communities Partnership (NOSCP) and Algoma University's Nordik
Institute will be hosting a conference in Sault Ste. Marie early next
year to advance the concept of community-based forest management
across Canada.

The Building Resilient Communities
conference (Jan. 16-18) is expected to attract students,
non-governmental groups, Aboriginal delegates along with researchers
and practitioners of community-based forestry.

Established in 2006, NOSCP was a
response to the crisis in the forestry industry that brought together
academics, municipalities, First Nations and non-governmental
organizations.

As mills began shutting down, the group
began lobbying for more diversity and greater flexibility in a rigid
Crown forest tenure system that allowed wood supply to be locked up
by companies whose plants were no longer in operation.

“We were seeing that as an
opportunity to take a closer look at whether the way we had been
doing things was continuing to serve us well,” said Peggy Smith, a
conference organizer and a Lakehead University professor in natural
resources management. “We figured it was an opportunity for
change.”

The group began promoting the concept
of having decisions on forest management made locally and lobbying
for government policy encouraging the highest and best use of wood.

For the upcoming conference, among the
scheduled speakers is Evelyn Pickerton of Simon Fraser University who
will speak on First Nation and municipal partnerships in natural
resources management, and Jesse Ribot from the University of Illinois
who will deliver a presentation on democratic decentralization of
forest management.

“The people closest to the land can
bring a certain kind of knowledge to the table,” said Smith, which
is why First Nation groups embrace their concept.

“It shouldn't be always top-down,
centralized decision-making done with the industry twisting the arm
of government.”

The event includes a talking circle
where past NOSCP workshop attendees and new delegates can talk about
their past project successes or failures, and ask questions and find
support.

“One of the very powerful things that
we've done in our workshops is just bringing people together to talk
to each other,” said Smith. “There doesn't seem to be very many
venues to do that.”

She's hopeful the conference encourages
and inspires entrepreneurs and organizations to continue in their own
efforts.

Smith said Ontario's current forest
tenure reform with enhanced licensing and pilot management
corporations isn't doing much to support the theory of
community-based management.

“I think we've been influential in
promoting the idea but we're totally disappointed that the province
hasn't done more.”

Smith said Ontario's competitive wood
supply process freed up some fibre to a handful of new players, but
she is disappointed that more hasn't been made available that would
encourage more smaller value-added ventures.

“I think the reason we're not seeing
more is the province has been too timid in diversifying the approach.
And that's largely been in response to pressure from existing
industry.

“In the face of that resistance from
industry, that wants to sew up that wood supply it's still making it
really difficult for people to get in.”

If there's been one victory for NOSCP,
Smith said the province has established a community working advisory
group alongside its First Nation and industry groups.

While some media pundits question
whether an education in forest management represents a viable career
option, Smith said there are many broader issues to consider with
global climate change and Ontario making deep cuts to the Ministry of
Natural Resources.

“In the end, who's going to be
looking after the forests? Are we going to let them burn?

“I think we need great minds to
address those issues and hopefully there will be places for these
students to work when they're finished.”